Ivy

finnbleK1xeTuT- · November 2022

Hi, I'm a novice gardener. I've moved house and now have a garden - it's maybe 50' X 30'. Since I moved in, some nice flowers have popped up but also loads of weeds and brambles. Now I'm trying to cut it back I realize that the entire garden is colonized by ivy. When you get right down to the soil, there's a mat of ivy and then a dense network of roots running throughout the garden. It seems an overwhelming task. Can anyone advise what I should do?

Ceres · November 2022

Sadly there is only one thing to do and that is to tackle it slowly and deliberately. It is fairly easy to pull up and if it is out in the open, rather than winding around other plants, then you have the advantage. Clearing any garden is always a daunting task and it is best done in easy doses rather than trying to tackle it all at once so that you slowly work your way across the plot, leaving behind you a blank canvas ready for your new garden. I know that might seem boring but in gardening the only short cuts involve poison, and that isn't good. If you can get hold of a mattock or digging hoe (azada) then the task might be a lot easier as you can hook the roots out more easily. Ivy is a very beautiful plant with gorgeous leaves, and flowers and fruit that are welcomed by many birds and insects but it gets out of hand so easily so I appreciate your problem........though I'd be more worried about the brambles.

bédé · November 2022

I'm a great ivy fan. I have had some 20 varieties pass through my hands. I usually grow them as ground-cover, but also to cover a wall and ugly trees. One good thing about ivy, and probably why your garden has so much, is that they thrive on shade.

The wild species also has its uses, but if you want to get it out, do as already said and keep pulling.

The same goes for brambles. If you grab them < 1 inch above the soil they are thorn free. Just pull hard. What snaps off and is left behind will resprout, so keep repeating.

finnbleK1xeTuT- · November 2022

Thanks for this advice. I have tried to do a bit but the scale of the task is so daunting! It's made worse by not being entirely sure what I'm doing, which never helps. Some of the roots pull up easily, but others seem to go deep and I've just pulled up something that was as thick as my arm when I finally dug right down! I very much dislike the spiky brambles but they seem easier to get on top of and they're not as sneaky. They're more brutish the way they try to take over, but they're obvious. The ivy creeps along under cover and has literally taken over the whole garden. I'm thinking that I might need to get in some labour if I want to have a garden in my lifetime. I'll need to find out how much it would cost but just me against the ivy seems a bit hopeless. If I ask them to dig the whole thing over, pulling out as much of the ivy roots as possible - is that the right instruction? I'll mark off the bits where some nice things came up and I'll work on those sections. Does that seem like a reasonable plan?

GardenerSuze · November 2022

@finnbleK1xeTuT- Gardening needs lots and lots of patience. I agree with @Ceres taking your time and doing a through job over the next year or more will pay off in the long run.

Ivy is a wonderful plant, it is home to so many insects and birds. However it can soon get out of hand and you need to keep away during the nesting season.
Perhaps you could start with just one area so you feel like you are making progress?

This is a long term project, gardens that have been neglected have alot of weed seed which will appear as soon as you clear an area. This can be daunting but at this point a hoe is your friend. You say there are some nice plants. Perhaps you could create a nursery bed for them in a cleared area this will give you a chance to clear any weeds from their roots.

I would not resort to weedkiller in any circumstance, if you are able to garden over the winter months without compacting the soil this would be a good start a little at a time.
The big positive is what you can achieve for the future not only a lovely garden to enjoy but value added to your property.

izzy8 · November 2022

I agree with Suze. Looking at the garden as a whole can be daunting, I tended to pick out areas of my garden that were bugging me and concentrated there. Seeing progress a little at a time. One thing about ivy is that you can pull whole lengths out easily, do as much as you can during winter while growth is slower.

Liriodendron · November 2022

Perhaps if you could post a photo or two we might be able to advise on a plan of campaign... if any of your photos are in portrait form they'll need cropping or they load sideways on this forum, I'm afraid.

finnbleK1xeTuT- · November 2022

I don't know if this tells you much? It's just a big old mess! Getting from this to the garden I have in mind just seems such a huge job. Especially as the house needs a similar level of renovation. I am not as strong as I used to be and I'm thinking it might be sensible to get some strong lads in to dig away. Obvs not the buddleia and a few other shrubs that can stay. But I'd be asking them just to dig up the scrub, pull up as much roots as possible?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/0b/it6n4jtmy2ac.jpeg

Pete.8 · November 2022

I had a similar sort of problem with an area about 30ft x 30ft
I used a strong form of glyphosate called Rosate36. It is harmless to soil and insects.
It killed everything, but it did take about 3 months.
It is ONLY absorbed by the leaves so plants MUST be growing well for it to work, so use between Mar-Sept.
I only had think ivy on a fence so roots were minimal, you may still have to dig out thick roots if there's lots of them, but the Rosate did kill it all.

There's a post I made a while ago here-
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/988597/glyphosate-rosate36-dilution-rate/p1

Whichever route you choose I wish you luck. It's a lot of hard work
We'll all be happy to advise on panting too once you done the easy bit 😁

purplerallim · November 2022

I think ivy is the devil's own plant😡 and takes alot of getting rid of once established. In winter the best to do is pull up, it's not till spring that you will see how you are doing, and if some form of weed killer is needed. If you can't manage heavy digging on that large a scale, then you may have to go that way, but there are ways of doing it to without causing too much damage to other plants/wildlife. It will take you some time to sort out your garden, but keep going @finnbleK1xeTuT-

Fairygirl · November 2022

I sympathise @finnbleK1xeTuT- - it can be quite daunting when you're faced with an overgrown site and you want something nice to look at and use.
If you can find the main roots of the ivy, and cut it back there, then apply one of the stump killer products [SBK is good] that should see it off. It may take a few applications, but as long as you take note of where each stump is, that makes it easier. It roots as it grows, so pull out as much as you can too, and get rid of as much of the top growth as you can.

It may well be worth getting someone in to do a rough clearance, and then you can see what you have, and make your plans over winter.

"We'll all be happy to advise on panting too"
I think the OP will definitely be 'panting' once the site's cleared @Pete.8

Ivy

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